What law enforcement professionals say about our current Bellingham jail

  • "If I had to describe it in one word...it would be deplorable. The building itself is falling apart. They can't hold as many people as they used to hold. It's not a safe place for both the inmates or the people that are working there. There's not a lot of services for the folks that are there, and it's pretty much a revolving door. They're at capacity most of the time. So that if there is a crime that occurs in Bellingham or Whatcom County, we can't book people into the jail."

    Flo Simon
    Retired Bellingham Police Chief

  • “We've got spaces that were meant for storage that are being used for housing. We've taken basically every available nook and cranny, and converted it to use for the folks who are in custody. That's left us with very few options for programming and recreation and different activities that would be beneficial for the population who's in custody. So, on a number of levels, the facility is suffering from its old age and obsolescence."

    Caleb Erickson
    Corrections Administrator

  • “People know that they aren't going to jail, so they're more likely to commit crimes. The residents or the citizens of Bellingham see that. They no longer call the police because we can't take them to jail. It goes to the quality of life here. It has taken its toll.”

    Flo Simon
    Retired Bellingham Police Chief

  • "There are basic design issues that need to be addressed. And without a wholesale change or replacement, it is impossible to get needed functionality from the existing space."

    Caleb Erickson
    Corrections Administrator

  • "The conditions of our downtown jail are depressing. It’s cramped and loud. For someone experiencing mental health issues it’s not a place wto stabilize. The loud noises, the banging, it’s an unhealthy place to work or to try to get better. As a detective with BPD I worked with Sheriff’s detectives on a regular basis.  I would go into their offices in the basement. They’d have green ponchos for their cubicles in case it leaks again and ruins their work or drips on them. The facility is a hard one to work in and the job is already tough."

    Tawsha Dykstra Thompson
    Local Police Officer

What law enforcement professionals say about a
new jail/behavioral care center

  • "A behavioral care center is co-located with a jail facility, but is essentially that left turn at booking. Instead of going right and being booked into jail, you're going to go left and you're going to go into a behavioral care center where you have consistent Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy options. Meaning that there are are programs that are developed for rehabilitative efforts in the facility. We can change people's lives on a behavioral level so that they don't continue to come into jail."

    Caleb Erickson
    Corrections Administrator

  • “We need what I would call wraparound services. So you have a facility that houses those that pose a risk to the public, and you also have a behavioral health ward, and you have a drug addiction ward. And so while they're there, they have all those things available to them. And then when they get out, they have a program, they have somebody that's set up with them to get them to reenter our community. Right now, I think when they get out of jail, they're either being picked up by somebody who's addicted or they don't have a ride to where they're going, and so they're likely to re-offend and reuse and run out of meds, and then the cycle starts over again.”

    Flo Simon
    Retired Bellingham Police Chief

  • "We want to reduce the impact of the facility on the lives of the incarcerated, and make it a better, more holistic place for them to be. There really isn't a maximum ceiling on the amount of natural light that should be available to folks. We want to use colors that are calming and don't create anxiety or anger in people. We want to use non-traditional construction materials as much as possible. Consider a newer hospital environment: carpet and wood tones, good lighting, and art with a natural theme. Those are the concepts that we're looking for. Things that are, maybe a little bit atypical in a correctional environment, but definitely speak to a more welcoming and understanding atmosphere."

    Caleb Erickson
    Corrections Administrator

  • "Elements of trauma-informed design are very important for my vision of what a new facility could look like. We want to make sure everybody has a space that they can call their own. It's not the same thing as having isolation or solitary confinement. It is simply a space they can use the restroom in private, sleep in private without having the fear of somebody looming over them in the night. A place to read a book or be by yourself for your own mental health."

    Caleb Erickson
    Corrections Administrator

  • "I think it's a good roadmap. I think it's a doable roadmap. It's gonna take a lot of work, but I think that we put the work into the Implementation Plan, and if we just follow it we will have a wonderful facility that can accommodate all of the things that we need. It's time for a new jail to come into this century with all the tools that we need to help people that are afflicted by behavioral health issues, drug addiction, and those that actually need to be incarcerated because they commit serious crimes. The jail we have now is not doing it."

    Flo Simon
    Retired Bellingham Police Chief

  • "Right now there is no facility that can support us in our mission to keep people safe. Every day is like Groundhog Day. You arrest someone on Monday and the same person again on Tuesday and Wednesday because we can’t book them into a jail that is at or beyond capacity. As a police officer this has an impact on your desire to go out and try and affect positive changes in our community. A new jail and behavioral care center can change that."

    Tawsha Dykstra Thompson
    Local Police Officer